Cancer cream tests positive

Superficial skin cancer may one day be treated with a cream rather than being cut out or burned off.

A study undertaken in New Zealand and Australia has shown that 3M-brand Aldara (imiquimod) cream appears to be effective in clearing superficial basal cell carcinoma.

Auckland dermatologist Dr David Scollay, who was involved in the trials, said the initial results were good news for thousands of New Zealanders who underwent minor surgery or freezing to eliminate basal cell skin cancer.

The traditional method of freezing or burning the superficial cancer often needed to be fairly aggressive and could leave quite ugly scars, said Dr Scollay.

The cream is a simple treatment which does not leave scars or cause any pain.

"It represents a real alternative for managing these increasingly common non-life-threatening tumours."

The trial showed that basal cell carcinoma cleared up for most patients after six weeks of treatment.